Curvy and the Beast

“Before you leave, take these.” I place a bag in his hand filled with enough samples of an antibiotic to last him a full course. “It’s an antibiotic to fight off infection. I already gave you some through your IV earlier, but you need to be on these for the next two weeks. Your wound was infected. I cleaned it out and stitched it up. You’re going to want to keep it clean and change the bandages twice daily.”

“I had an IV?”

I nod. “I took it out a few minutes ago. You were kind of out of it. So, take one pill in the morning and another at night. Finish all of this, don’t skip any. I also put in some alcohol wipes, gauze, bandages, and medical tape so you can keep your side clean. After a few days, keep the wound clean, but leave off the bandage. I also put my card in there if you need anything or you have any questions about what I’ve just told you.”

I hand him back his money clip, not comfortable taking money from the man. He pulls out three hundred bills and lays them on the bed. “I always pay my way.” He snaps and walks out.

I stare down at the money and shake my head. What the hell was that about? I follow him out of the room and notice he’s already walking out the door. When I try and catch up to him, he’s already hailed a cab and getting in.

Damn it.

2

Crews Santiago

Ever since I walked out of that clinic two weeks ago, I haven’t been able to get her out of my head, my dreams, my every waking moment. She’s making me soft, and a man like me can’t afford to be soft, so I’ve stayed away. Yet, I’ve imagined in vivid detail what it would feel like to sink inside her, owning her curvy body. The minute I get my hands on her, life will change for both of us.

I shake my head and look around me. The only people out at this time of night are up to no good. I should know. I am one of them. As an enforcer for a connected loan shark, I have the supreme privilege of busting up a guy who owes more than he will ever be able to pay back. I wait for my mark to show. Justin Gideon is a moron. He has a wife and three kids to take care of, to protect, yet he’s down at the track with his skanky girlfriend, Tina Marie, right now. Tina Marie has been around the block, but I don’t judge her, she’s just looking for her next meal. I judge him. He should know better. He has better.

Guys like him make me sick. I don’t have time for women, but I know right from wrong. I was too busy trying to stay alive when I was younger. The streets of Harlem aren’t where you want to be when you’re trying to hustle. When I’m comfortable, and I finally claim a woman, I am going to be all in. It’s gotta be Addison. My sweet Angel Addison. I crack my knuckles while thinking about all the ways I am going to fuck Justin up without killing him when an ear-piercing scream rings out. A scream that goes straight through me.

Taking in my surroundings, I know that the only things on this block are a bunch of brownstones and the urgent care clinic. I take off running towards the clinic, hoping that scream didn’t come from the woman I haven’t been able to stop thinking about. Everything in me tells me I need to get to her. The alley next to the clinic is well lit, except for one corner. I head there knowing that’s where I’ll find her. I see a man pressing a woman against the building, her face smashed against the cement wall. Her oddly adorable black and hot pink sneakers are struggling to keep purchase on the ground as the man yanks her back and forth and starts pulling at her clothes. Waves of revulsion come over me. Men who hurt women make me fucking sick. She is struggling under him, and everything in me tells me she is in trouble.

“Stop! Please… someone help me!” Her voice, one that I know, is urgent and full of tears. I step out of the shadows and pull the guy off of her. Holding him by his arms, I look back over at the girl and even in the dark light, I can tell it’s my Angel.

“What the fuck, man?” he shouts at me. His slurred words tell me he’s drunk as hell, not that it’s an excuse to assault any woman, especially mine. “Let me go,” he says struggling. I do so but immediately punch him, knocking his ass out cold. He goes down to the ground, where I leave him in the heaping pile of garbage, he fell in.